Reformed Congregation of the Silver Hand
The Reformed Congregation of the Silver Hand is a Congregation of the Council of Bishops comprised of Paladins of the Order of the Silver Hand and led by the Bishop of the Silver Hand, Lilith Sahl Olethos and Grand Master, Melysa Marwyn-Ashvale. The Congregation's purpose is: - United military action as it is relevant to the integrity of the Church of the Holy Light, and the stability of the Grand Alliance--particularly the defense of the faithful and their lands. - To provide aspirants with the education, physical, and spiritual training necessary to make them worthy of the honor of being anointed paladin defenders of the Grand Alliance. - To provide a forum for general petitions to the Archbishop and Council of Bishops from all anointed paladins of the Grand Alliance. Grand Master of the Silver Hand While NOT technically a position within the Congregation, the Grand Master of the Order of the Silver Hand is appointed to serve as an exemplary model for all paladins in the Congregation. The Grand Master is appointed without set term by the Archbishop, and is endowed with the supreme, knightly authority to teach, instruct, and educate all paladins in the Order of the Silver Hand in all knightly matters. The present Grand Master of the Silver Hand is Lady Melysa Marwyn. 'Offices of the Congregation' All official positions within the Congregation are to be appointed by the Congregational Prefect, (Bishop of the Silver Hand) save for the Grand Master of the Silver Hand, who shall be appointed by the Archbishop. 'Congregational Prefect' The Congregational Prefect is, as in all congregations of the Council of Bishops, the supreme head of the Congregation. The Congregational Prefect of the Congregation of the Silver Hand shall be the Bishop of the Silver Hand. The Prefect is responsible for ensuring meetings are held, ensuring order is maintained during meetings, and for evaluating and ensuring membership requirements are met, and remain adhered to. The Prefect carries the full weight of the Congregation's organizational, and political responsibility upon his or her shoulders. The titular style for the Prefect is the same as the style for that individual's rank within the Church (i.e., for a bishop, it is "The Most Reverend, His/Her/Your (Most Reverend) Grace). All other officer positions have been suspended, pending a re-evaluation of their necessity and the duties of each office. Brief History Origin of the Congregation of the Silver Hand Founded in 623 K.C. by then Bishop of Stormwind, Johannes Moorwhelp and Erich Gottfried Manstein, the original Congregation acted as the body by which all knights and paladins who pledged themselves to the Order could come and voice their concerns, questions, and calls for aid. On November 10th, 623 K.C., due to controversy surrounding the continued longevity of the Congregation in the wake of death of the Congregation's first Grand Knight, Erich Gottfried Manstein, and the brief tenure of his successor, Lady Melysa Marwyn, the Council of Bishops issued an act for the dissolution of the Congregation. (For a complete history of the original Congregation, please click here.) A New Constitution After his election in January 624K.C., Archbishop Caspius dedicated himself to the task of soliciting the opinions of the most renowned Paladins in the realm. Appointing Tanya Seltara Grand Master pro tempore to call paladins to the forthcoming promulgation, he used the work of Melysa Marwyn as a basis from which to rewrite the constitution, establishing clear and firm boundaries and duties for the reinstated congregation. 1st Meeting of the Reformed Congregation The new Constitution was promulgated on 1 March, 624K.C. at Tyr's Hand, Lordaeron, and the Congregation was officially reformed under its new constitution. Caspiius appointed Melysa Marwyn to serve as Grand Master of the Silver Hand and elections for congregational officers were held immediately after Marwyn took her oath of office. The congregation elected Sir Binor Dungallion to serve as Speaker, but was unable to find a single person willing to serve as Secretary. In the absence of a Secretary, Melysa Marwyn volunteered to serve in this capacity on a temporary basis. A copy of the minutes may be found here. The Abdication of Caspius I After the abdication of Archbishop Caspius, the Congregation was thrown into a state of confusion, beginning with an increased suspicion of corruption within the Council of Bishops. Attendance suffered and to make matters worse, a great deal of confusion arose with regard to the office of Grand Master. The administration of Alonsus Secundus, the founder of the Congregation, deeply values the Congregation of the Silver Hand's goals, and a small announcement was left in his first Decreta: The Light has been pleased. The Council of Bishops later offered clarification with regard to the Congregation's governing document and Bishop Lilith Sahl Olethos was personally tasked by the new Archbishop with making any necessary changes to the constitution. Moving Forward In the interest of putting controversy and confusion to rest, Melysa Marwyn met with the Bishop of the Silver Hand on the night of May 10th, 624 K.C. They discussed the future of the Congregation, the allegations of Corruption within the Council of Bishops and the very nature of what it means to be a paladin. Believing Lilith Olethos to be a true servant of the Light, dedicated to maintaining the integrity of the Order of the Silver Hand, Melysa agreed to work with her in reforming the Congregation, rather than divorcing it entirely from the Council of Bishops. The two have already exchanged a number of ideas and while her faith in the Council of Bishops is near non-existent, Melysa seems to have placed a great deal of trust and faith in Olethos. While she initially intended to leave the congregation and make a farewell address on Saturday, May 17th, after hearing of the news, Archbishop Alonsus Secundus invited Melysa to negotiate via her comrade, Sir Ivay Osrana. The invitation was accepted in writing, via a hand-delivered letter to Alonsus II on the evening of Friday, May 16th at his residence within the Cathedral of Light in Stormwind. After speaking with Alonsus for several hours after May 17th's meeting, Melysa agreed to continue to serve as Grand Master. She later attended the Archbishop's coronation on Sunday, May 18th, where she publicly swore the following oath: "In sight of these witnesses and the Holy Light, I Melysa Lynn Marwyn Ashvale swear to serve our Holy Church, its rightful head and the Order of the Silver Hand. I swear to uphold the honour and code of the Order of the Silver Hand, to walk in the Light's grace and spread its word throughout Alliance lands, to protect the weak and innocent with my very life and to vanquish evil wherever it may be found." Dedicated to the successful reformation of the Congregation of the Silver Hand, Lady Melysa provided the Archbishop and the Bishop of the Silver Hand with a copy of her first draft for congregational reform. The proposal included a number of measures which while almost certain to be unpopular, were designed to increase the congregation's efficacy. The Bishop of the Silver Hand was in agreement with all the proposed changes and Lady Melysa took the liberty of drafting the second edition of the Constitution, which awaits Alonsus Secundus' approval. With the approval of the Archbishop, she has already made a number of necessary changes to the Congregation in the effort to transform it from a mostly ineffective group, known for spending more time debating around a table than in the field of battle to what she refers to as "The hammer of the Light's wrath against its most unholy enemies." --cutting out meetings almost entirely in favor of training sessions and military action. Her vision has already garnered the support of many of those who fled from its previous incarnation. Authority The Congregation is a REPRESENTATIVE BODY and NOT a GOVERNING BODY. It DOES NOT possess the right to manage the internal affairs of those ORDERS and CHAPTERS represented in its ranks beyond the REMIT REQUIRED by the MEMBERSHIP GUIDELINES. The CONGREGATION has the RIGHT TO VOTE RESOLUTIONS which are then passed to the appropriate authority, be they the BISHOP OF THE SILVER HAND, the LORD CHANCELLOR of the Church, or the ARCHBISHOP. The CONGREGATION may not take upon itself powers that are possessed solely by the CHURCH, ARCHBISHOP, COUNCIL, or PREFECT, such as the ability to RESOLVE DOCTRINAL DISPUTES, MAKE WARS, CALL CRUSADES, and CAST OUT PALADINS from the ORDER OF THE SILVER HAND. However, the CONGREGATION does have the RIGHT TO RESOLVE that it would like any of these things to be done, thus DIRECTLY REPRESENTING its position to those in authority. --Whereupon, the authority so referred should either accede to the request of the Congregation or decline, providing some explanation of either course. The CONGREGATION has the right to ESTABLISH CODES OF CONDUCT, to SET TRAINING GUIDELINES, to CALL TOURNAMENTS, and--most importantly--to CREATE THE MILITARY REGIMEN NECESSARY to maintain its constitutent bodies in a STATE OF READINESS. For this purpose, it should encourage, arrange, organise, and prepare WAR GAMES, MILITARY MANOEVRES, and other such sundry events as will continually improve the UNIVERSAL PALADINHOOD. If the CONGREGATION wishes to take an ACT and is unsure if the ACT is lawful, a simple request for a yea/nay response can be made by the SPEAKER to the BISHOP OF THE SILVER HAND, (or to his superior the LORD CHANCELLOR, or directly to his superior, the ARCHBISHOP). ALL MEMBERS OF THE CONGREGATION agree, by their membership, to RECOGNIZE IN FULL the PALADINS of the other members of the CONGREGATION. If a member body believes that another member body is in VIOLATION of the REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP, the matter should be referred to the PREFECT BISHOP OF THE SILVER HAND at once. Membership Requirements The Congregation of the Silver Hand shall accept, as speaking representatives, the Paladin who is the head of each chapter or order of Paladins that have been approved by the Bishop of the Silver Hand (or, his officially designated Paladin representative, from within the same order). These members are equal in stature at the Congregation, and are each possessed with a single, non-transferable vote, in all matters before the Congregation. Paladins not presently affiliated with a chapter may obtain membership as individuals, pending approval of the Bishop of the Silver Hand. Individual peers are each possessed with a single, non-transferable vote, in all matters before the Congregation. Only members of the Congregation, the Bishop of the Silver Hand, the Grand Master of the SIlver Hand, the Lord Chancellor of the Church, or the Archbishop may address the congregation as 'members' or 'peers'. All others who wish to speak must be invited so to do in a motion, seconded, and voted upon by the congregation. The titular style for voting, representative members is "The Honourable" as in, "The Honourable X," "The Honourable Representative for the X," and "His/Her/Your Honour." For a chapter or order to gain recognition by the Bishop of the Silver Hand, the said chapter or order must demonstrate: - That its paladins are trained and squired in accordance with the mission statement of the Congregation. - That its paladins are wholly orthodox and knowledgeable believers of the teachings of the Holy Light. - That its paladins are virtuous; and that the order will not suffer fallen, corrupt, or otherwise gravely sullied paladins to remain within its ranks. - That its paladins are loyal to the Light, the Holy Church, and the Grand Alliance, being not neutral in any regard. - That its paladins are duly consecrated in a manner which does not deviate in any way from the consecrations performed by the Order of the Silver Hand as established by Alonsus Faol and Uther the Lightbringer. This includes having sworn the paladin's oath (Shown below) The Paladin's Oath: To uphold the honor and code of the Order of the Silver Hand, to walk in the Light's grace and spread its wisdom throughout the land, to protect the weak and innocent with your very life, and to vanquish evil wherever it may be found. Should the Prefect Bishop or the Grand Master of the Silver Hand determine that a body has lapsed in these observances, the Prefect will revoke membership until the body is once again in accordance with the principles above. Should a body fail to attend two successive meetings, it will lose its voting rights (effective at that second meeting) until it is again in attendance, and its vote shall not be considered in matters before council, nor shall the said vote constitute part of those counted as amongst the membership. Should a body fail to attend three sucessive meetings, it will lose its membership entirely, and will need to reapply for membership through the Bishop of the Silver Hand, serving as prefect. An individual who refuses to attend without just cause approved by the Speaker, Prefect Bishop of the Silver Hand, or Archbishop, having been ordered so to do by the Speaker, and attempted to be brought before the council by the Sergeant-at-Arms, shall invalidate the membership of their order in the Congregation and will need to reapply for membership through the Bishop of the Silver Hand, serving as prefect. Eilligible Organisations and Individual Paladins The following organisations and individuals were determined to be eligible for membership by the Council of Bishops. Each organisation must elect its own representative to address the Congregation. If your organisation is not listed here, and you are interested in membership, please contact the Congregational Prefect, Bishop Lilith Sahl Olethos. If your character is not a member of any chapter or organisation, he or she may also contact the Congregational Prefect with regard to obtaining individual membership. Confirmed Member Organisations and Their Appointed Representatives *Blazing Dawn Representative (Binor) *Clergy of the Holy Light Representative (TBD) *The Highguard (High Elf) Representative (Galvajin) *League of Lordaeron Representative (Cartres) *House of Elric Representative (Ritchard) *Ivory Vanguard Representative (Hopewarden) (Status Ambiguous) *Scarlet Hammer Representative (Lightburnt) *The Stormwind Infantry Representative (Aabllynned) *Order of Saint Uther Representative (Athelstan) Confirmed Individual Members *Lady Melysa Marwyn-Ashvale - Grand Master of the Silver Hand (Ashvale) Eiligible, but Uncomfirmed Organisations *Blades of Greymane Representative (TBD) *The First Regiment Representative (TBD) *Grey Hand Representative TBD *Ardent Inquisition Representative TBD *Silver Hand Chapter Representative (TBD) *Arathorian Coalition Representative (TBD) *Covenant of the Pious Representative (TBD) Events Pilgrimage to Uther's Tomb - June 7th, 624 K.C. The Grand Master has scheduled a pilgrimage to Uther's Tomb for all members of the Congregation, during which they will hold a brief meeting and participate in numerous training exercises. Category:Congregation of the Silver Hand Category:Order of the Silver Hand Category:Church of the Holy Light Category:Holy Church Organizations Category:Grand Alliance Category:Congregations Category:Council of Bishops Category:Reformed Congregation of the Silver Hand